Ryan Newman walked out of the Halifax Health Medical Center days after his last-lap accident in the Daytona 500, thankfully, alive and well.
Two hours later, Roush Fenway Racing has announced that he will be replaced for this Sunday’s Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by one Ross Chastain.
Ross Chastain to fill in for Ryan Newman
“First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover,” Roush Fenway Racing president Steve Newmark said in a press release. “We also want to express our sincere gratitude to all of those who have offered support and taken the time to send their thoughts and prayers to Ryan, his family and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing.”
Although Newman was released, he will be unable to compete in the next event.
The team said in the release, also, that a timetable for his return has not yet been put in place.
Chastain, who is under contract with Kaulig Racing to participate in a full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, will take the reigns for the time being.
“The NASCAR community has long prided itself on being a close-knit family,” Newmark said in the release. “That is never more evident than during these types of moments, and we want to express our appreciation to everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing as well as Kaulig Racing for allowing Ross to fill in for Ryan in the No. 6 on such short notice.”
Chastain has collected four career wins in the NASCAR Truck Series in his career as well as a pair of Xfinity Series wins – one of them coming at Las Vegas in 2018 with Chip Ganassi Racing.
He’ll go for his first career Cup Series victory on Sunday when cars take to the track on FOX. The race is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET.
